Month: March 2015

Hormones in Beef: Myth vs. Fact

Much confusion and concern often surrounds the use of hormones in beef production. These “chemical messengers” are substances produced in the body that travel through the bloodstream to regulate body […]

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Energy Beet Trials Show Significant Results

I continue to spend part of my time investigating the economic and environmental impacts of beets as an industrial crop. When I got the results of the 2014 yield trials […]

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USDA Announces Funding Available for Specialty Crop and Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Programs

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on March 10 the availability of more than $66.5 million in funding for research and extension activities to address the needs of America’s specialty crop […]

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China is the Key to Sorghum Plantings in 2015

China’s entrance into the U.S. sorghum market began in September 2013, roughly coinciding with the import ban of a type of genetically modified corn, MR162. Since then, U.S. sorghum exports […]

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Fertilizer Prices Slightly Higher Than in 2014

The approximate retail prices for bulk purchases of major fertilizers per ton, published in the Feb. 19, 2015 USDA Illinois Department of Agriculture Market News Report, were: $554 for Diammonium […]

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